I’m currently a junior in high school and I’m in the process of searching for colleges. FSU really caught my attention and has almost everything I want in a school. (nice campus, party scene, academics, big sports school, good size) Also, I’m interested in finance and information systems, both of which FSU seems to excel at. I know that the school is made up of mostly kids from FL. I’ve been to SoFlo tons of times and have family in the ft Lauderdale/Boca Raton area and I know that, being from upstate New York, the people and the culture are not too different. However, I’ve never met anyone from (or even been) northern/ central FL or even some other southern states so I don’t know much about the southern culture. I’m from upstate New York. DISCLAIMER: For people who don’t know, upstate ny(Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo) is NOTHING like NYC. I live outside of Albany. It’s very rural and while New York is seen as liberal, a large portion of upstate ny is conservative. I’m not too worried about the change in culture if I attended FSU , however, my main concern is making friends and being excluded based on where I’m from and NY’s reputation. Also, I would want to join a frat and I am concerned about how being from the northeast will affect me getting a bid. Hence I have a couple questions.
- Is there a lot of OOS kids at FSU? If so are a lot from NY?
- are there any frats typically have a lot of oos kids?
- is there a lot of southern culture at fsu/ will it be a culture shock?(I have nothing against southerns)
- if u don’t think FSU will be a good fit, what other schools in FL should I take a look at?
Any input is very much appreciated!
Looking at question 3, I think you will find us “southerners” quite pleasant. Life is more laid back, football is KING and people are very friendly. It should not be a culture shock. I don’t know much about Greek life or OOS students but I don’t think they care if you are out of state or not that doesn’t really matter.
Get ready for heat as it gets hot in August and stays that way until Oct.
My son chose FSU specifically because it was a friendly, welcoming campus. His experience, on Accepted Student Days, was of current students and faculty saying “oh, you’re coming here? That’s great! You’ll love it!” rather than the vibe a couple of other schools gave off, which was "yeah, so what makes you think you’re good enough to be a (Gator/Bulldog/whatever). That had a lot to do with why he chose to go there, despite the fact that it was his in-state safety and thus somewhere below third choice on his list originally.
Fast forward four years- he’s just graduated, loved being there, misses it already, and made several probably-lifelong friends. Definitely a good call.
As for your other questions: FSU is reasonably diverse, could be more diverse. There are Latinx and Black and Asian students and faculty, though there admittedly could probably be more. Politically, Leon County leans left, though if you get into extended conversations with locals you may find some pretty staunch Christian conservatives. Nobody will care that you’re from the Northeast- this isn’t rural Mississippi circa 1965, for pete’s sake. New Yorkers are hardly a rarity anywhere in Florida. As long as you don’t act like you’ve just landed in a rerun of Hee Haw no one will even notice, and they certainly won’t care. (And if you do…well, stop it. Also, “Southerners”, not “southerns”.)
Beats me what fraternities want from pledges. It really depends on the fraternity. You’ll figure out which houses match you vbest during pledge week, honestly. You’ll be fine. (Pro tip: bring decent shoes and dress clothes for Rush events, so you don’t have to rent them from dormmates. You may never wear them again, but you might- and if not you can be the one renting them to people.)